Bandikoro: Tulum and Pre-Tour

So we're in Tulum. The video above is from our Friday night gig at Mezzanine, a big fat spot right on the beach. It was pretty cheesy most of the time, the la banda came out when we played. This was a riff someone taught me, and bandikoro added the drums. Drums: fast and crazy. Riff: slow and chill.
The videos I have of Bandikoro are mostly in venues, cafes, houses, La Valeta (a little collection of cabins that we lived and practiced at), but Tulum is a beach town. Here's a classic vid of the place I lived...sorry for the shite quality, it was long ago...skip to 4:00 to see my hammock on the beach, or take the tour of this hippie beach paradise.

Once I had been in Tulum for a while, and I saw how rarely the rest of the banda (crew) went to the beach, I had to break off and live on the beach. The town isn't right on the beach, it's about a 20 min bikeride down one road, or you could hitch. It was a little isolating when I moved, but it was so incredible to sleep in a hammock or a tent, and hear the waves, see the moon. The town is cool as towns go, but it becomes like anywhere else: cars, phones, money, coffee, tv. I couldn't take it.
Anyway in this post I'm trying to give an idea of what Tulum was like for us at this time. There are some clips of people doing circus stuff. This was huge in Tulum--and from what I saw throughout Mexico--with the Mexi-hippies. Also African dance and music. It was a blast, such active and healthy stuff to be into. I had so much admiration for the people around me that had created their shows and travelled around performing.
In Tulum we had a few regular gigs at local tourist spots that paid well, even by New York standards. With these gigs, and the low cost of living, I'm proud to say I SAVED money while I lived in Tulum working as a musician. I think this is amazing. Here's a great video of the rest of the band performing Djaka at one of our regular gigs--Zamas in Tulum. I never really got guitar parts down to perform with them on the traditional set.

The next video is a little random, shots of us hangin in Tulum, with some good family time in La Veleta. The second half is on the night before and day of our departure on our only tour--across Mexico, with the final gig to be opening for Sergent Garcia in Guadalajara.

So coming up will be lots of videos from the tour!

I should introduce who everyone in Bandikoro was. (I say "was"--I'm not sure what they're doing now, some of the members may be still going as Bandikoro)

Mike (USA):
My high school friend, the reason I was out there. Oldest member, and the one everyone turned to with they're problems. Mike help me fix my combi (VW bus), can I stay at your house, etc. Super even-tempered. Played djembe in the group. Solid, but was #2 behind the prodigy Lalo.
Has now lived in Tulum for like 10 years. Total ex-pat.